Alimony

If you are going through a divorce, the issue of alimony (also called spousal support) may be applicable to your case. This is typically a contested issue depending upon whether you are entitled to receive the payments or obligated to make the payments.

The main premise behind alimony is to allow the spouse receiving the payments to live at a standard that he or she was reasonably accustomed to during the marriage. It is often applicable where there has been one spouse who has sacrificed his or her career to raise children and maintain a home for them and the other spouse.

Both men and women can be the recipients of alimony and Ms. Wagner has handled both types of cases.

Types of Alimony

Just like other aspects of divorce in New Jersey, there are several statutory kinds of alimony. If applicable, the amount and length of alimony received may be dependent upon:

The length of the marriage

The difference in educational levels

The length of unemployment to raise a family

Ones employability and work history.

Up until the 2017 Federal Tax Reform Act, alimony was always deductible for tax purposes by the payor spouse and taxable to the payee (recipient) spouse. However, for any and all marital agreements or judgments of divorce entered into after December 31, 2018, the deductibility of alimony will no longer be available to the payor nor will it be taxable to the payee (recipient). If this is an important issue to your divorce settlement, you are encouraged to finalize alimony terms via a marital settlement agreement or judgment of divorce before the end of 2018.

Ms. Wagner will carefully analyze the facts of your case and its history to determine the appropriate form, amount and length of the obligation.

Alimony vs. Child Support

It should be noted that the issues of alimony and child support are separate issues. Therefore, one could end up paying both alimony and child support at the same time. However, the amount of alimony for the supported spouse must be calculated before child support is calculated.

Changing Needs

Alimony can be changed based upon a change of circumstance such as when the recipient spouse remarries, cohabits, no longer needs the support or the payer has had a decrease in his or her income. This area of the law is changing and, in fact, legislation was passed in September 2014 that addressed and modified many aspects of the payment and receipt of alimony. Ms. Wagner can look at your case and help you determine if any alimony modification options are available to you.

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